CoVID-19 and Cyber Crime

Criminals are using every opportunity to exploit the national crisis to defraud innocent people who are spending more time online, by targeting them to commit cyber crime.
Cyber crime can see criminals contact you via email or social media to try to trick you into parting with your money or personal information, or into purchasing goods or services that don’t exist or are of poor quality.
Detective Superintendent Jon Marsden, Cyber Crime Lead for Warwickshire Police said: “We recognise that technology has played a huge part in bringing people together virtually in these unprecedented times, however this increased use does mean that people are further exposed to online harm in the form of cyber crime.
“I would encourage everyone to take steps to help protect themselves from cyber crime and also raise awareness with their friends and loved ones to ensure they too don’t fall victim to senseless crimes such as these.”
Types of cyber crime can include:
Email phishing scams are bogus emails suggesting they contain important advice and information relating to CoVID-19. They will often appear to originate from your bank or a business you may buy from. These phishing emails often contain malicious links to copycat websites to try and trick individuals into providing their personal or financial information. Others may contain malicious attachments.
Latest phishing emails to look out for:
•Those purporting to be from the Government or the World Health Organisation (WHO) claiming to contain important advice about your health or information relating to the locations of coronavirus victims, or details of CoVID-19 research.
Fake and dangerous products sold online. Shortages of hand-sanitiser and similar antibacterial products may result in an increase of unsafe products available for sale online. These products may claim to be genuine but they are unsubstantiated, may not work effectively and could be dangerous. The products may not even be delivered.
Fake products may include:
•Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as masks
•CoVID-19 testing kits or vaccinations which are not currently available
•Emergency medical and survival kits
If you are approached unexpectedly remember to:
•Stop: Taking a moment to think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe.
•Challenge: Could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.
•Protect: Contact your bank immediately if you think you’ve fallen victim to a scam and report it to Action Fraud.
Protect yourself online
•If you’re buying products online, only buy from legitimate suppliers on secure websites and read the product labels.
•Create strong passwords using three random words for each of your online accounts and don’t use the same password for different accounts.
•Ensure you have installed the latest software and anti-virus protection on your laptops, tablets and mobile phones and turn on Two-Factor Authenication (2FA) where possible.
•Remember, if something seems too good to be true, it usually is!
If you have been a victim of cyber crime:
•To report a scam or for more information or advice, contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133. They will also alert Warwickshire Trading Standards Service who can provide additional advice.
•Report suspicious emails to the National Cyber Security Centre here and forward them to report@phishing.gov.uk.
•If you think you’ve fallen for a scam, contact your bank immediately and report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or via their website.
•Forward suspicious emails claiming to be from HMRC to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk and texts to 60599. Check HMRC-related phishing, or bogus emails or text messages against examples published on GOV.UK.
More information:
For advice on scams visit: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/scamsafety
For advice on online safety visit: https://www.getsafeonline.org/
For advice on cyber crime visit: www.actionfraud.police.uk/cybercrime
For advice on protecting yourself while working from home see the NCSC’s working from home guidance.